No To Strong Drink

Many professing Christians try to use this passage to justify drinking alcoholic or intoxicating beverages. However, a careful study of Scripture reveals otherwise. It primarily deals with God’s command to bring the tithe of all their increase “year by year” (v. 22), to the place which He “shall choose” (v. 25). They were to eat a portion of that to celebrate His blessings; whatever their soul “lusteth after.” The problem is the apparent permission for them to purchase and partake “strong drink!” The Bible clearly teaches that “strong drink” is forbidden because it makes one drunk (1 Sam 1:14); “and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov 20:1).

 It leads to the ruin of “men of strength” (Isa 5:22), causing even priests and prophets to err and go out of the way (Isa 28:7)! We must also understand that in the chronology of events, the dangerous effects of “strong drink” has not yet been fully revealed. Paul referred to such practices as “the times of this ignorance God winked at” (Acts 17:30). For example, there were certain actions that God allowed; such as polygamy (Gen 25:6), bigamy (Deut 21:15), and divorce; because of the hardness or the lust of their hearts, “but from the beginning it was not so” (Mt 19:8)!

Furthermore, the commands in our text were under the watchful eyes of the Levites (v. 27); who kept things in order (Num 3:3). But they were not allowed to “drink wine nor strong drink” (Lev 10:9)! Therefore, they would have never endorsed drunkenness, because it is against the law (Deut 21:20). As bible-believing Christians, we are “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9), who are forbidden to consume “strong drink.” Our bodies are also “the temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor 6:19), that we should never defile (1 Pet 1:16)! God bless you!

- Pastor Melito Barrera